


Smarty-Pants

by FiremanSam



Series: Imagine Me And You [3]
Category: 9-1-1 (TV)
Genre: Anal Sex, Buck is Smart, Buck isn't a guest, Established Relationship, Happy Ending, I'm Bad At Tagging, Love Confessions, M/M, OR SO THEY THINK!, Oral Sex, Secret Relationship, Sex, The happiest of happy endings, eddie loves him
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-13
Updated: 2020-06-13
Packaged: 2021-03-03 19:08:01
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,607
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24690547
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FiremanSam/pseuds/FiremanSam
Summary: "No it was great. You were great."Buck's mouth twitched but he said nothing. A few seconds passed and Eddie thought they were done talking about it until Buck nodded to himself and met his eyes."You defended me.""Of course I did," Eddie scoffed, indignant. "I love you."
Relationships: Evan "Buck" Buckley/Eddie Diaz (9-1-1 TV)
Series: Imagine Me And You [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1697710
Comments: 24
Kudos: 423





	Smarty-Pants

The 15th annual John Douglas Firefighter Fund dinner and quiz extravaganza was singlehandedly the most truly tedious experience of Eddie's life.

He'd missed the 14th, and he had been warned that a night of shaking hands in front of green screen backdrops in a hotel lobby followed by a trivia quiz compered by the 92 year old man himself would be on the boring side, but he was literally falling asleep as he leaned his head on his arm and watched Buck doodle on a napkin.

His face still hurt from smiling with all the little kids who wanted to take pictures with them in their full gear, and while he had loved seeing their faces light up and answering their questions, now that he was back in his regular uniform he felt sweaty and sleepy and wanted nothing more than a hot shower and to go to bed.

The alcohol wasn't helping. Eddie rarely drank to excess, and the waiters were keen to approach every time they saw anything even approaching an empty glass. The food had been strange and gross so he was now drinking on an empty stomach just to have something to do to stay awake.

As he listened to the guy drone on about how much he loved quizzes and camaraderie Eddie took the opportunity to close his eyes, just for a little cat nap. As a treat. He was swiftly kneed rudely by Chim, who smirked at him when he jumped before he returned to his whispered conversation with Hen.

While the guy was ancient, and possibly actually the dullest man in North America, Eddie had been told he was something of a legend in the LAFD. His priceless art collection and more importantly his entire family had been saved from a serious fire 15 years previously, and he was so grateful that he threw these parties for them, auctioning off experiences with real firefighters to his rich, old friends.

When the line of kids had waned Eddie had been roped into another photo shoot with a bunch of old ladies from a nearby retirement home, and while his hands had hovered respectfully above their skin, some of theirs had distinctly not, and he had mostly found it amusing only to see Buck frowning from the side of the lobby.

This thing between them, the _relationship_ , was going great. Nothing had really changed, aside from they slept together, literally and figuratively. Buck stayed over more often than not, and now when they watched tv together they sat next to each other rather than keeping the manly distance that they had been doing. Sometimes, when Christopher had gone to bed Buck would lay his head in Eddie's lap until he was petted and stroked. It was way more cute than Eddie would ever tell him.

Christopher knew about it, as much as he understood, anyway. He was initially happy but eventually pretty unbothered, as honestly nothing had really changed. The only real difference was he now got to see Buck all fluffy and rough voiced in the morning, which in fairness he probably didn't appreciate in quite the same way that Eddie did.

They had maintained their rules about keeping it quiet at work. If Maddie had told Chim then he was a damn fine actor, as he seemed genuinely oblivious. The temptation wasn't even there, to do anything, Eddie had been surprised to find. Even when they were alone he was focused solely on the job and he knew how important it was to Buck that he not fuck up again.

Not that in hindsight Eddie felt he ever really _had_ fucked up, but he tried hard not to think about all of the shit that had gone down in the previous year and focus on the now.

The _right now_ was falling asleep in a ballroom in one of the nicest hotels in downtown L.A, when there was a king sized bed upstairs with his name on it. There was also one just down the hall with Buck's name on it, and the sooner this interminable quiz was over, the better.

Nobody was even taking it seriously. Bobby was writing the answers after the other members of the group halfheartedly guessed answers. Douglas had warned at the beginning that some of the questions were trick ones, and that others were particularly hard, but the ones that Eddie hadn't been totally tuned out of had sounded like pretty basic trivia ones. Basic to other people, maybe.

No cellphones were allowed so that nobody cheated, and the guests with people who might need to be contacted in an emergency had been issued perspex boxes to put them in so that they could see who was calling. Only Buck had turned his off completely, shrugging that if Chim had his to hear from Maddie then everybody he cared about was here.

Everyone had groaned affectionately, including Eddie, but he kept thinking back on it, wishing that he could have said something straight away to let Buck know how much he cared about him. How he was his emergency contact now, how he couldn't stop thinking about him and the kind of future they could have if Eddie didn't mess it up with all of his bullshit.

The champagne and the tedious monotony of the questions was making him feel grouchy and weird, and he caught Buck's eye when he shook himself out of it and took a long sip of water. He tried to have a telepathic conversation with him about how bored he was, but Buck just gave him a quick smile and returned to his doodle. The lights were too dim and the table too large for Eddie to see what he was drawing, but it had better be good.

He zoned out for the rest of the questions, mentally going through what he wanted to do later that night in the luxurious hotel room. They had only had ten minutes to dump their bags before they'd had to come down for the world's most boring quiz, and Eddie was excited to go back up and appreciate the child free night while he could.

The lights in the room went up, and Douglas ceded the microphone to the compere, who announced that they would be coming to collect the answer sheets table by table, and that as soon as all of the sheets were collected then cellphones could go back on and the dancefloor would be opened.

The 118 had the table furthest in back, and Eddie watched with amusement as Buck's hand shot out to grab the answer sheet that Bobby had left on the table before he had gone to take a piss, grumbling about his legs falling asleep as well as his brain. Chim and Hen were still drunkenly giggling about something, and Eddie watched as Buck scribbled stuff down quickly on the paper, finishing just as one of the staff came to collect the sheet and open the box containing their phones.

Buck saw that Eddie was watching him and shrugged, reaching into the box and retrieving his and Eddie's phones and handing it to him. Chim and Hen wobbled off to dance and Eddie leaned forward in his seat, making Buck jump when he cleared his throat.

"What were you just doing?"

"Nothing."

Buck pulled a face as if Eddie was being ridiculous, and made a show of leaning back to yawn, stretching his shirt across his chest. When he saw that Eddie was watching he winked at him, and Eddie was surprised by how it made him feel. It was probably just the alcohol but the uniform had never really done it for him, fantasy wise, but it was definitely something to add to his mental list of things he wanted to try but wasn't brave enough to ask for yet.

Nearly an hour of drinks and bad disco music passed, and Eddie was enjoying his second wind twirling Hen around the springy floor to Diana Ross when the lights dimmed again and the compere bounded across the stage with an enthusiasm that didn't reach his eyes to the microphone to announce that Mr Douglas would soon be back to announce which house had won the prized silver plaque to hang proudly for a year until they were all forced to do this all again.

Eddie didn't mind, really. He was happy. He was with his friends and with Buck, and more importantly everyone was currently drama free. Including himself, for the first time in a long time. He'd forgotten all about what Buck had been up to earlier until they returned to the table and he caught sight of the napkin that he'd been scribbling on.

It was answers. Numbered 1 through 100. Buck was behind him and saw him see it, reaching out to grab it before anyone else could see. Buck held his wrist gently as Eddie put it in his pocket, and he caught Hen's eye as he noticed that Buck's hand was still there. Casual touches were so regular to him now that he didn't think much of it until he saw her eyes widen slightly.

Oh.

Shrugging it off, he took his seat and turned to watch Douglas shuffle across the stage and sit wearily in an ornate chair. The microphone stand was adjusted so that he didn't have to move, and he retrieved an envelope from his inner tuxedo jacket pocket.

"When I was a boy," He began. "My father used to encourage me to work outside with him, in the fresh air. But I was always more happy with a book and a little light, reading as much about the world as I could."

Eddie felt bad, as he knew this guy had raised millions of dollars for them and was by all accounts a genuinely good man, but his anecdote before the evening had got started had been about macroeconomic models in the great depression and had literally been 20 minutes long. Plus he had a weird feeling that he knew what was about to happen, unless any of the other houses had anyone who was as smart as his boyfriend.

"Anyway," Douglas said wetly, interrupting Eddie's realization, "That's enough about that. My mother would happily indulge me. And she did have one thing she liked to call me, and that I call my grandchildren, and now my great grandchildren, to this day. And that, friends, is a smarty-pants."

A polite ripple of laughter went around the room, and Eddie looked over at Buck, who was studying his fingernails. He was so fucking humble he probably didn't realize that he was being talked about. No doubt he thought that some other trivia nut was on another team.

"So it seems that that's what one of you is, Ladies and Gentleman, A smarty-pants!"

Another polite laugh spread around them, louder this time, and Buck finally looked up. Bobby, who was sat next to Eddie, looked as bored as they all had been during the questions, obviously thinking somebody else had won. Maybe they had, Eddie thought. Maybe Buck wasn't as smart as Eddie knew he was.

Nah, he was.

Douglas coughed into his elbow and stood up, getting everyone's attention. He nodded at a member of staff, who brought out the large silver plaque and held it slightly aloft. They were too far away to see the inscription, but Eddie wasn't surprised when the name of their own house reached them through other's exclamations.

"So, it gives me great pleasure, to say that with the highest score ever achieved in all my years of doing this, 91 out of 100, this year's winners are the 118. Congratulations!"

Applause broke out as Eddie concentrated on Buck. He saw surprise and then worry flick over his face before he pasted on a bemused smile as they looked around and waved humbly at the other tables while they clapped them. Bobby's eyes narrowed and he looked around the room as if it were a practical joke before he smiled graciously as Douglas nodded his congratulations and lowered himself back into the chair.

A few minutes passed. Eddie stayed quiet, sipping his champagne and waiting to see what happened. Selfishly, he wanted to take Buck and go upstairs, but the atmosphere had changed and he knew something was brewing. Hen was laughing and Chim was making a crack about how dumb everybody else must be when Bobby cleared his throat.

"Ok. Who cheated?"

Nobody said anything.

"Look, guys, we can't take a trophy if we cheated. It's not fair."

He was using his captain voice, and it was irritating Eddie for some reason. He bristled and Bobby looked at him and then Buck. Chim and Hen watched the whole exchange like tipsy spectators at a tennis match, and Bobby scolded them with a look. He raised his head and made eye contact with Buck, who looked blankly back. Eddie felt mildly nauseous.

"Buck, how did you cheat?"

Buck's face fell, and Eddie felt it down to his toes. He bit his lip and turned to Bobby as he rooted around in his pocket for the napkin that Buck had written the correct answers on. He unrolled the napkin and laid it out in front of Bobby, risking a glance at Buck, who was staring at him, his face unreadable.

"He didn't cheat, Cap. See? He just changed our dumb answers for the right ones."

Hen laughed happily and cuffed Buck on the shoulder affectionately. He blushed, and Eddie caught his eye and smiled, getting one in return. When he looked over at Bobby though his face fell, and Eddie followed his gaze. Bobby was studying the napkin seriously, his face stern and set. He frowned and folded it up, before he leaned forward and fixed Buck with one of his looks that could stop you in your tracks.

"Buck, how did you get these answers?"

Buck laughed nervously and shrugged, looking to Eddie before he sat up a little straighter and returned Bobby's hard look.

"I knew them."

"Buck," Bobby smiled sadly and shook his head, "You couldn't have. Douglas said that they were harder than normal quiz questions. You weren't even paying attention."

"I was, Cap," Eddie didn't miss Buck's automatic deference, but he didn't like it either, "I didn't cheat, I swear. I _knew_ them."

Awkward silence fell. Bobby looked around the table and back at Buck, who had his hand resting on his chest earnestly. Eddie's hand physically itched with wanting to touch him, to make him feel better about being doubted so publicly.

"Bobby, he didn't cheat. He's just smart. Really, _really_ smart. And he wouldn't cheat anyway, which you know."

Eddie let an edge come into his voice and challenged Bobby to break eye contact with him even as he felt everyone's eyes on them.

Bobby blinked first and sat back. He looked guilty, and Eddie watched him regret the whole thing. Or at least saying it in front of everybody.

"You're right, Sorry, Buck." He cleared his throat again and took a sip of water. The tension eased and Eddie watched as Hen rubbed Buck's forearm while Chim reached over to clap him on the back. Eddie could see though that the damage had been done. Bobby tapped the side of his glass a few times with a pen and tried to smile. "Great job. Thank you. We've never won before."

"No problem, Cap." Buck shrugged it off and raised his glass as a server passed by. "I just thought the plaque would look good on the wall, that's all."

Bobby smiled stiffly and nodded, and they were excused from the conversation by the server arriving to top up their glasses.

The quiz was forgotten after another hour of increasingly inane drunk discussions and terrible dancing, and Eddie looked up from a heated debate he was stuck in with some stranger about which state was the best at firefighting to see Buck, who had been dancing with Mr Douglas' elderly daughter, trying to get his attention.

The guy he was talking to wouldn't shut the fuck up about hydrants or some bullshit, and Eddie watched as Buck took a keycard out of his pocket and slipped it out of his hand and into Eddie's shirt pocket as he leaned down to say a friendly goodnight.

Eddie could only watch as he left, and he had to wait twenty minutes before Hydrant Guy shut up and he could finally leave. He couldn't see any of his friends which meant he had nobody to slow him down, which he was grateful for as he took the empty elevator upstairs, undoing his shirt buttons to save time as it glided up, practically silent.

Once in his own room he hung his uniform up and threw on some sweatpants and a shirt that he'd got out earlier. He felt bad about the room being wasted, but asking for one room might be a quick way of letting people know what was going on between them, but it wouldn't be the most subtle, for sure.

As he brushed his teeth he texted Abuela to check in, smiling as he received a blurry and very close up picture taken with the flash on in the dark of Christopher's room with only half of his head visible. They were obviously both fine, so he said goodnight, retrieved Buck's keycard and slipped his phone into his pocket.

The rooms must have been allocated in bulk as he knew Buck was a few doors down and Chim's room was next to Eddie's own, so it stood to reason that the others would be nearby. He peeked through the peephole and eased the door open quietly when he saw the coast was clear before padding softly towards Buck's room in his bare feet.

He knocked quickly and let himself in, blinking as his eyes adjusted to the lights being off in Buck's room. Hydrant Guy had been talking a hell of a long time, but surely not long enough for Buck to go to sleep. Disappointed but happy enough just to sleep too, Eddie clicked the door shut behind him and took a few steps inside.

The drapes were still open and once his eyes adjusted he was taken aback by the view of the vibrant skyline, and he went towards the window to get a better look.

"Don't turn the light on, it looks better like this."

Eddie just about stopped himself from jumping even as he realized Buck had been right there the whole time, sat in an armchair and looking out at the view. When he saw that he'd surprised Eddie he grinned, and Eddie shook his head at him and tutted.

Buck laughed at him and raised his hand in an apology. Eddie shook his head again and took his cell out of his pocket, putting it on the large desk that was next to an enormous wall mounted tv. If he had a letter to write later they were all set. The minibar was under the desk and Eddie took out an expensive looking glass bottle of water.

"This is definitely free, right?"

Buck hummed an affirmative, still looking out to the sky. Eddie approached Buck and stood behind him so that he could run his hands through his hair when he leaned back, which he did. It was soft and slightly damp, and Eddie put the unopened and immediately forgotten water down on the little table next to the chair and leaned down to sniff at Buck's neck.

"You smell good."

Buck shivered and Eddie kissed him on the cheek before he stood up straight and gently moved his head back against his stomach, carding his fingers through Buck's hair. He could feel him relaxing underneath his fingers. He could do this all day.

"The shower is amazing. And all of the stuff in it is free, so I used a _lot_."

"Oh yeah? Should I take one?"

Buck pulled away before he turned around in the chair to face him and gave him a shameless look up and down. He reached over the back of the chair and pulled Eddie to him by the hips, nudging his nose against his stomach and wrapping his arms around him. He breathed in deeply and then sighed contentedly, his breath tickling the strip of Eddie's skin that he'd exposed.

"No, you smell fine. Where were you?"

Eddie rested his hands on Buck's shoulders and felt the tension he didn't even realize that he was still feeling drain away with every second of the embrace. He noticed for the first time what Buck was wearing, a terry cloth robe with the hotel logo on the pocket. It was inexplicably sexy, and Eddie forgot he'd been asked a question until Buck poked him.

"Talking about hydrants. I couldn't get away straight away. Besides, I didn't want it to be obvious."

Buck hummed and slipped his hands under Eddie's shirt. When he moved it made another waft of scent from whatever product he had used float up, and Eddie extracted himself and pulled his shirt off. Buck raised his eyebrows and Eddie laughed.

"I don't want to smell _fine_ , i'm just gonna jump in the shower real quick."

Buck nodded and turned back around, and Eddie watched as he brought his knees up, making the robe fall to his lap as his leg was raised. Feeling another rush of lust, Eddie excused himself quickly and went into the bathroom.

Buck was right, the shower was amazing, and Eddie used the time fiddling with the dials and using way too much expensive product than he usually would to try and keep himself in check. He hated that he did but he still got butterflies before they had sex. They'd done it so many times now, and it was good, really, _really_ good, but there was a part of him that still felt clumsy and inexperienced.

Every time when they were done, and he looked over at Buck, messy and debauched and relaxed in a way nobody else got to see then he knew it was fine and he was just being an idiot. He just so desperately didn't want to fuck it up, and as every day passed he realized more and more what he wanted this to be. What it already was.

Refreshed and smelling just as good as Buck did, Eddie wrapped a towel around his waist and opened the bathroom door. Buck was where he'd left him, staring outside and contemplating whatever it was that kept him like this sometimes. Present but not wholly.

As Eddie played with the switches in the doorway to make the fan extract the steam he'd created he saw Buck's uniform hanging up neatly and he smiled to himself as he smoothed out a crease in the pants. He must have made a noise as Buck looked over at him and raised his eyebrows.

"What?"

"Nothing," Eddie laughed quietly and ran his hands through his wet hair, "Just thinking."

"About what?" Buck shuffled the chair around so that he was facing him, "Did you want me to keep it on?"

Remembering what he had thought earlier, Eddie felt himself color before he shook his head and motioned at the pants.

"Smarty-pants."

Buck groaned and covered his face. It was adorable, and Eddie felt another little piece of himself fall even deeper for him. He laughed and tightened the towel around him as he leaned against the desk and crossed his arms over his chest.

Buck peeked out through his fingers and shook his head. He rested his elbow on the side of the chair and scratched his hand along his stubble. It was a self soothing gesture that Eddie had seen him do a thousand times but only recently he understood it for what it was.

"Don't. That was awful."

He was making light of it, Eddie knew, but he felt reckless and wanted to attempt to say his piece.

"No it was great. _You_ were great."

Buck's mouth twitched but he said nothing. A few seconds passed and Eddie thought they were done talking about it until Buck nodded to himself and met his eyes.

"You defended me."

"Of course I did," Eddie scoffed, indignant. "I love you."

Well, there it was. The elephant was loose in the room and stomping around. Buck's eyes widened in surprise and he hid his mouth behind his hand. He smiled, Eddie could tell, but it was concealed from him.

Eddie waited to panic but nothing came. He did love him. He wanted to tell him and he had. Maybe not the way he should have told him, but whatever, needs must. Buck moved his hand away and bit his bottom lip before he found Eddie's eyes. He held eye contact for a second before he looked away again and scratched his face.

"You love me?"

"Yeah," Eddie hated that he sounded surprised, and he maintained eye contact. "You knew that, right? Like, _before_ , I loved you, when we were friends, but now I _love_ you, love you."

Smooth. The night's alcohol was long gone and couldn't be blamed for him sounding dumb, but still Eddie didn't care. He had never felt so weirdly determined to tell someone he loved them. Aside from Christopher, obviously. But even then Chris _knew_ he loved him, the idea that Buck didn't felt terrible.

Buck nodded. More at himself it seemed than Eddie, and he dropped his hands down to rest in his lap. The robe was only loosely tied and it had opened halfway down his chest. Buck nodded again and looked up at him.

"I love you too."

Eddie's heart leapt, and he honestly could put how it made him feel in that moment up there with the best things that had ever happened to him. He smiled, wide and ridiculous and unable to act like he wasn't totally gone on this man who had made him feel things he didn't think he would ever feel again. Most things he had made feel better than they ever had.

"Can we have sex now?"

Eddie laughed at Buck's whiny tone. He raised his eyebrows at him and shook his head.

"Not yet," He smirked at Buck's sulky face and waved his hand at him. "Nice robe."

"Yeah," Buck said slowly, letting his legs fall open and making the fabric slide off his broad thighs, "It's a little short."

Eddie took a deep breath and moved away from the desk to take a step closer. He knew that the towel he was gripping on to would soon hide nothing and render it pointless so he let it fall to the floor, watching Buck closely as his pupils got larger.

How much Buck wanted him often caught him by surprise, and he couldn't help but revel in it sometimes. He was half hard and he could see that Buck was too. As he approached the chair Buck went to stand up and Eddie shook his head, gently pushing him back into the chair and holding the end of the belt of the robe.

As Buck shifted in the chair Eddie used his other hand to push the sides of the robe off his legs, revealing his cock and impulsively stroking it lightly with the fluffy belt. Buck closed his eyes and breathed deeply and Eddie took the opportunity to lean in and kiss him.

He realized he hadn't kissed him since they left for work that morning, a rushed, chaste one in the doorway before they headed out to the car like roommates. He took his time now, savoring it as he dropped the belt and took Buck in hand.

He was fully hard now, and Eddie tried to keep his coordination as Buck reached up to run his hands along his arms as they kissed. It was getting a little too hot, too soon, and Eddie broke the kiss and dropped to his knees. He picked up the ends of the belt and undid the loose knot, pulling the robe open and running his right hand up Buck's chest and resting it over his heart while his left gripped onto his thigh.

Buck's eyes were huge and dark and Eddie watched him carefully for a reaction as he leaned down and sucked the tip of his cock into his mouth. Buck's hands gripped the chair where he was holding onto it, and Eddie laughed as he watched him curse at the ceiling. He'd only done this a few times, and while he wasn't a pro yet, he knew Buck liked it and what to do to make him _really_ like it.

With his free hand he found Buck's and dropped it on top of his head as he sucked him down, heat pooling in his stomach when Buck instinctively tightened his grip, pulling on his hair just on the right side of painful.

Concentrating on the task in hand, so to speak, Eddie let his mouth fill and relaxed his jaw to take as much of Buck in as he could while he jerked him slowly at the base. It wasn't easy but it was worth it, as his own cock was full and heavy just from the sounds Buck was making above him as he gripped the side of the chair hard enough to make scratching sounds in the fabric next to Eddie's ear.

Eddie was starting to tire and get messy when somehow Buck sensed it, going from pulling his hair to stroking it gently and moving his hand down to cup Eddie's jaw and rub soothingly as his cock slipped out of his mouth. Eddie swallowed and licked his lips, watching Buck as he rested his head on his thigh and let his face and hair be stroked. He was simultaneously horny and relaxed, and he sighed happily.

Buck looked down at him and smiled quickly before he tapped Eddie's head to make him raise it. Eddie did, and Buck moved out from under him, standing up and shrugging off the robe before he folded it loosely and put it on the table. Eddie went to stand up but Buck stepped forward and maneuvered him to take his place in the armchair before he got to his knees.

Buck was good at a lot of things, like rope rescues, cooking, having generally terrible luck and quizzes, apparently. But what he was best at it, in Eddie's humble and not at all biased opinion, was sucking dick.

It was, in all honesty, the best Eddie had ever had. He literally had got himself off just by thinking about it, on the nights when Buck insisted he stay at his own apartment so that Eddie and Christopher could spend time together without him. Whoever had taught him deserved a fucking medal.

Although knowing Buck he probably taught himself. Either way, it was incredible, and Eddie let his hand rest gently on Buck's head as he sucked him down. Buck's cock was longer but Eddie's was thicker, and not for the first time Eddie struggled not to react when Buck managed to take him all in. He'd done it before and Eddie had come almost straight away, apologising profusely when Buck was done swallowing and getting his breath back and being pleasantly and secretly happy when Buck had said he liked it.

Fighting his natural instinct not to be too rough, Eddie let his mind wander and ran his hand through Buck's soft hair. He was looking out at the high-rise buildings when he realized with a start that he was _looking out at the buildings_. He tapped Buck on the shoulder and had to bite his lip not to groan when he pulled off with a pop, using his hand to jerk him and digging his thumb into his frenulum.

"What?"

Buck's voice was shot and it took all of Eddie's self restraint not to say fuck it and carry on with what they were doing. He pointedly looked outside and Buck looked blank for a second before he smiled quickly and rested his head on Eddie's thigh before he leaned back and looked around him.

"Oh, sure, hold on."

There was a remote control on the table and Buck peered at it in the low light. It was cute, and Eddie marveled at how he could be about to come one second and then finding the image of Buck trying to read unfamiliar remote control buttons with his own dick straining flushed and angry towards his stomach. He was even stroking it distractedly, and Eddie couldn't take it anymore.

"Doesn't matter, get up."

Buck looked surprised and Eddie used his momentary delay to pull him up and into an intense kiss that was broken by mutual gasps when their cocks rubbed against each other. Eddie kissed him again, slow and deep as he ran his hands up and down his back and nudged him closer to the bed.

There was a noise at the window and Eddie broke away to look as the drapes pulled themselves closed on a rail, gliding along quietly and swishing softly when they met in the middle. Buck smiled in triumph at the remote that he was still holding before he tossed it onto the nightstand.

The drapes must have been layered to let the guests sleep at any time and the room was now too dark to properly see. Eddie felt Buck's hand slip into his own as he let himself be led over to the bed where they kissed like teenagers for a few minutes, hands roaming everywhere. Eddie let his hand drift down Buck's back and cupped his ass, slipping his fingers down to find that as he expected, Buck was already ready for him.

Eddie moved them so that Buck was on his back and reached down to stroke his neglected cock. Precome was already leaking and Eddie rubbed it between his fingers and impulsively tasted it. Buck had never let him swallow, always pulling him off before he came as if Eddie was going to spit and tell him it was gross.

To be honest, it wasn't the nicest, but Buck always swallowed, and Eddie wanted to try it too. He wanted that complete abandon, to show he was all in on this, no barriers. He wanted to loosen the control that Buck always had over himself and what he wanted. Let him take, for once.

"Eddie, _please_."

Eddie hadn't realized he'd stopped moving, so he kissed Buck deeply by way of an apology and ran his hand down his chest as he moved to suck him down again. Buck obviously wasn't expecting it and he grabbed Eddie's shoulder too tightly before he realized and let go, patting him gently before he gripped the bedspread instead.

Eddie got comfortable and nudged Buck's legs further apart as he teased him with his hand and mouth. His free hand found Buck's hole, and he slowly slipped his pointer finger inside. He was so warm and tight that Eddie lost his rhythm and forgot to stroke, and another bead of precome hit the roof of his mouth.

It spurred him on and he pulled his finger out to slide in another alongside, and he could tell Buck was trying so hard not to move. He wanted him to, though, and he withdrew his fingers and renewed his efforts elsewhere. Buck was soon writhing underneath him and Eddie rolled and squeezed his balls one last time before Buck tensed and gripped his shoulder again tightly and started to come.

Sheer force of will kept Eddie still as he swallowed it down. It wasn't as bad as he'd expected but it was still something he wasn't used to and he was glad it was still dark enough so that Buck couldn't see his reaction as he let his cock slip out of his aching mouth.

Buck was boneless and pliant beneath him and Eddie swallowed again and wiped his mouth before he moved to lay down next to him. He was content just to get himself off now but Buck's hand flapped around at him before he took Eddie's hand and rested it on his hip as he turned to the side.

"Sure?" Eddie croaked, and Buck's guttural noise was all the answer he needed as he pushed two fingers inside him. "Buck, _god_."

Eddie was expecting a joke or a comeback, something, but Buck just rolled back over to claim a fierce kiss that turned into a desperate one as Eddie worked up to three fingers and apparently found his prostate. He didn't want to overwhelm him so pulled out and soothed him with kisses along his jaw as Buck's hand came up to stroke his face. Eddie's eyes had adjusted now and he could see him, his earnest, pretty face.

"Eddie," Buck's voice was quiet and breathy in the still of the dark room. "I love you."

Eddie couldn't think of anything to say that would make any sense. He could only show him how he felt, and he kissed him once, twice, and then deeply, licking into his mouth and distracting him as he held him tightly around his waist and pushed inside.

He hoped he would never get over how it felt to move inside of Buck, to feel like he was inside his head as well as his body. The noises and touches that were just for him and nobody else as he pulled nearly all of the way out and then back inside, trying to get deeper and deeper with every movement.

"Can I come inside you?" Eddie managed to get out between breaths. Buck had told him he liked it, had said that he always could, but he always asked anyway to make sure. Buck nodded and Eddie strained to kiss him again, before he spoke into the damp hair at the nape of his neck as he pushed inside. "I love you."

It shouldn't be sexy, but seeing Buck's reaction close up made everything click and he bit his lip as he came, pushing in as deep as he could and feeling wave after wave of pleasure wash over him. He was still holding onto Buck's chest tightly and he tried to relax his grip as Buck ran his fingers along his forearm gently.

When he had his breath back he kissed Buck's neck again and braced his hand on his hip to pull out. Buck flinched but said nothing as Eddie looked down to watch his come trickle slowly out. He ran his thumb gently over Buck's hole, careful not to apply any pressure, and slowly slipped it back in. When he looked up Buck was watching him impassively, and he did it again, watching his reactions and wondering what it felt like to have someone inside of you. Buck raised an eyebrow at him and snuggled into the pillow, apparently happy enough to let him play.

When there was nothing left to push back, Eddie sat up and pulled the covers out from under him and poked and prodded Buck until he could do the same for him. Buck settled onto his back and and moved his hand to feel along the nightstand.

Eddie watched sleepily as Buck produced the remote, pressing buttons until the tv and then a few lights turned on and off, until finally there was a whoosh and the drapes parted, gliding quietly back against the wall.

The skyline was just as impressive as it had been before, and now the extra light meant they could see eachother better. Buck put the remote down and rolled over to embrace Eddie, kissing him deeply and moving to kiss down his jaw and his neck until it became a strong, meaningful hug.

Eddie said nothing and just took it all in. He was overwhelmed by his own feelings and couldn't articulate any of them. All of his bravado had abandoned him. Buck didn't seem to notice or mind, though, as he squeezed him tight one last time before releasing him and turning on to his side to face the view.

As fatigue overtook him Eddie remembered something he wanted to ask and said Buck's name. Buck grunted and stayed still, his breaths slow and deep.

"Hey, did I at least get my question right?"

The question about baseball had been the only one Eddie had felt confident he knew. It has been early enough on in the quiz before terminal boredom had overtaken all of them. All of them aside from Buck, anyway.

Buck didn't answer and Eddie thought he'd fallen asleep. He was reasonably confident he had got it right, and didn't actually care either way, he just wanted to lighten the mood.

"Yeah," Buck said after a while, yawning audibly. "Sure."

Eddie smiled to himself in the dark before he frowned at the 'sure'.

"Did I?"

"No."

Eddie huffed and Buck laughed into his arm. He always went to sleep all curled up on himself only to end up starfishing into Eddie's space every time. It was nice.

"Florida Marlins won in '03, not '02."

Buck sounded smug now and Eddie liked to hear it. He ran his hand down his back and stroked his hip, enjoying how easy it was to just touch him like this whenever he wanted now with no hesitation.

"Hmm. If you say so. Go to sleep, smarty-pants."

Buck laughed and yawned again. Eddie stroked his back one more time before he let his hand stray south to grip his ass one last time before he released him and settled down into the soft, plush sheets. He whispered a goodnight, and slept.

***

The sun woke Eddie up. Handy, as they had fallen asleep before they had set any alarms. He didn't want to wake Buck by reaching over him to where his phone lay face down on the nightstand so he begrudgingly got up to retrieve his own from the desk.

He tried to get back in bed as stealthily as he could but not knowing the mattress he made it dip and Buck stirred and sleepily opened first one eye and then both. The light made his eyes a lighter blue and Eddie felt another little tug of love and contentment.

"Sorry. Go back to sleep."

Buck closed his eyes and snuggled back under the covers. Eddie wasn't sure if he was even actually really awake. His hair was sticking up, partly from drying naturally but mostly from Eddie's ministrations and it made him feel all warm and fuzzy.

But still sleepy. This hotel may cost more for one night than they made in a week but it was worth it for the bed alone. Eddie really needed a bigger bed now he had someone to share it with. Someone tall and big. Maybe he'd get one, if that wouldn't freak Buck out by moving too fast.

He set an alarm for 9am knowing they had the room until noon and Christopher was at school until the afternoon, and drifted off back to sleep thinking about furniture shopping.

***

The next time Eddie woke up it was because Buck was nudging his shoulder insistently. He opened his eyes and squinted in the bright sunshine, looking over to see Buck sprawled on his front with his face fully smooshed into the pillow even as he jostled Eddie's shoulder.

He was speaking but Eddie couldn't make out what he was saying and scrubbed his hands over his face as he tried to wake himself up. He thought that his alarm must be going off but a quick glance at his cell showed it was only 8.45. He was about to ask Buck why he'd woken him when he heard knocking at the door.

Buck lifted his head and turned his face towards Eddie. He had pillow creases on his face and looked great, typically. Resolved to ignore the knocking, which was surely a mistake, Eddie rolled onto his side and turned the alarm on his cell off, quickly reading and replying to a text from Abuela to say Christopher was safely at school.

"Who's at the door?"

Buck's voice was throaty and that coupled with how he looked was enough for Eddie's dick to wake up and start taking an interest in proceedings. He shrugged and shifted on to his side to face Buck, shuffling closer and burying his head under his jaw.

"Must be the wrong room," Eddie said in between kisses. Buck was sleepy still and let himself be kissed, and Eddie was getting really into it when he heard the telltale sound of a vibrating cellphone. He looked up and saw Buck's phone lit up as it rattled against the dark wood. "Your phone."

Eddie reluctantly moved away and sat up, bunching the covers up around his waist and stretching. The view was less impressive in the daylight, smoggy and just _looked_ loud, and Eddie blanched at how they'd nearly had sex with the drapes open. As it was what they had done while they were open was bad enough.

Buck sighed and sat up, retrieving his now silent phone and shrugging when he saw who had been calling. When Eddie nudged him questioningly he showed him the screen, Hen.

"I said she could have the iPad we all got for Denny's school," Buck said, looking away, embarrassed. "I'll call-"

The knocking at the door returned and they both looked towards it. With a sigh Eddie tossed the covers back and got out of bed. He was naked, and he put Buck's discarded Hugh Hefner robe on and headed to the door to see what the hell the problem was. He had one hand on the handle and was about to look through the peephole when there was a rustle of fabric and an alarmed and naked Buck approaching him with his finger to his lips.

Eddie was about to ask him what he was doing when it suddenly dawned on him.

This wasn't _his_ room.

The knocking got louder and this close to the door they could both now clearly hear Hen's scratchy and hungover voice hissing Buck's name in an exaggerated whisper.

It was funny at first, as they made exaggerated incomprehensible sign language at eachother before Eddie held his finger up, shrugged the robe off and shoved it at Buck before he shut himself in the bathroom. As he saw himself in the full length mirror, naked as the day he was born, hair everywhere and clearly obvious to him fingerprint bruises on his shoulder where Buck had clutched at him the night before, he had a sudden thought that if it had been Bobby then the morning could be heading in a very different direction.

He heard Buck clear his throat and open the door, and the unmistakable sound of Hen inviting herself in and croakily telling Buck off for leaving her out in the hall. As Eddie crept over to the sink and tried to silently swill some mouthwash he listened as she teased him about the robe and his crazy morning hair before she thanked him graciously for the iPad. They had all been given one, along with an apple watch and other goodies. Eddie hadn't even looked through his bag yet as it was in his immaculate, unused room.

He wasn't trying to eavesdrop on their conversation but he heard Hen congratulate Buck for winning them the quiz trophy the night before and smiled, forgetting that he had mouthwash in his mouth. He spat it out and ran the faucet, realizing with a start that it could probably be heard in the other room.

It obviously could, as Buck and Hen stopped talking and Eddie froze, mentally kicking himself. He got a fresh towel from the heated rail and wrapped it around his waist and sat on the closed toilet lid while he listened to Hen recover her composure and say she had to leave. He heard the door open and was about to stand up when there was a quick rap on the door.

"Bye, Eddie."

Eddie closed his eyes and shook his head to himself as he heard the door close. Buck, or at least he assumed it was Buck, knocked sharply and opened the bathroom door. He looked stricken and panicked and Eddie stood up.

"I don't care," Eddie said, standing up and slipping his hand up the sleeve of Buck's robe to rub his forearm. "I don't mind, it's fine."

"But you said- You don't want anyone to know at work, about me."

"About you?" Eddie was taken aback. He let go of Buck's arm and looked him in the eye. "No, about _us_ , in case it's unprofessional, or weird, not about _you_."

Buck said nothing but looked a little less panicked, and damned if Eddie wasn't determined to get to the bottom of why he had little to no self worth. Pot, kettle, Eddie knew, but he was working on his issues so the least he could do, what he _wanted_ to do, was make Buck realize how great he was.

Eddie kissed him, short and sweet. There was one thing he definitely could do, one thing he had wanted to do but his small bathroom hadn't been big enough to accommodate. He stepped closer and slipped his hands into Buck's robe, sweeping his hands up over his chest and onto his shoulders, pushing it off.

He undid the tie and let it fall to the floor while Buck watched him with heavy lidded eyes, his lips parted and shiny. Eddie pulled his towel off and turned his back to Buck as he opened the door to the walk in shower. He could see Buck's reflection in the mirror, and it filled him with heat and something else, something heavy and hopeful, to be looked at like that, to be wanted so much.

He would make Buck see that he was, too, that was for damn sure.

***

After, when they were scrubbed pink and sated, they ate fruit and talked about nothing and everything while they looked out on Los Angeles. They had some time before Eddie needed to go and retrieve his own things from his room before noon and had errands to run before picking Christopher up from school.

As he got dressed Buck was standing at the window talking about some kind of superfood he wanted to try and Eddie was mentally adding it to his list for the grocery store so that it would be there for him when he came over that evening. He looked around for his socks and shoes before he realized he didn't have any and laughed at himself. Buck looked over at him.

"What?"

"Nothing," Eddie shook his head. "Hey, is there anything else you want from the store?"

Buck shook his head and Eddie got off the edge of the bed and went over to him, wrapping his arms around his waist and kissing him on the back of the neck before he released him and headed to the door. Buck was still looking out at the view when Eddie opened the door and threw caution to the wind.

"So i'll see you at home? Later?"

Buck turned slowly and nodded. Eddie watched as the corner of his mouth twitched in an aborted smile and he nodded again, stoic.

"See you at home."

**Author's Note:**

> .....I'll try not to make this an essay!
> 
> First off, this technically is a stand alone but I couldn't be bothered to write how they got together so I just *hand waved* and popped it on as part of this series.
> 
> I had wanted to do something about Buck being smart and then I saw a tumblr post about them doing a zoom quiz during quarantine (I'm so sorry I can't remember who it was), and this was born from that. Once I decided to add this to the series I decided to combine it with something else I was planning to show how Eddie felt about things. I'm really not particularly happy with it but the more I tinker the more I hate it so, meh. Be gone, fic.
> 
> Tbh I'm totally over the show and the part of fandom that is negatively affecting the show/actors so I really do mean it when I say i'm done. ;-) Depends on what happens in the future though, I guess. 
> 
> Caveat, i'm sure there are mistakes aplenty and they're all mine. PLEASE, no criticism, I am a pathetic whiny baby and I cannot take any at all. Trust me, I know what's wrong with it.
> 
> Sorry for the ramble, take care of yourselves and each other. x x


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